Because of her illness, DiCamillo learned very early to entertain herself with books. But she didn't begin her career as a writer until the age of 29, when she went to work for a book warehouse and was assigned the floor where all of the children's books were stored. For four-and-a half years, DiCamillo spent every workday with those books and, eventually, she fell in love with children's literature.

"It's not enough just to have talent, if you want to be a successful writer," says DiCamillo. It takes work. She writes two pages a day, five days a week—which means that it takes her about a year to finish each book. To the many children who contact her each year to ask about writing, DiCamillo has some very simple advice: "If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart."

Kate DiCamillo won a Newbery Medal for The Tale of Despereaux in 2004 and another for Flora & Ulysses in 2013. In 2014 she was appointed US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress.